The Dolce Gusto multi-beverage appliance

a successful partnership

Dolce Gusto : a successful partnership

When Dolce Gusto made its debut on the market for multi-beverage capsule appliances in October 2006, success was not a foregone conclusion as many rivals were jostling to compete on this segment opened by Nespresso in 1991. But success was immediate for the latter ! The recipe was based on three main ingredients : a successful partnership between Krups and Nestlé, the world leader in coffee, excellent technology, and revolutionary design. All this fuelled by an outstanding communication campaign, delivered in a young and quirky tone. Contrary to Nespresso which exclusively targets black coffee aficionados, Dolce Gusto is geared towards all members of the family and offers a range of hot and cold drinks based on coffee, chocolate and tea: expresso, caffè lungo, capuccino, latte machiato, chococino, ice cappuccino, and more.

Against its leading rivals, Senseo (Philips) and Tassimo (Braun), Dolce Gusto very quickly distinguished itself, namely through its technology (1 350W thermoblock and 15-bar pressure pump) which guarantees an unmatched quality of beverage. The Dolce Gusto family then branched out into new ranges, including an automatic machine with a LCD screen, and it regularly extends the diversity of beverages made using new capsules launched by Nestlé, like tea in the fall of 2010. The quality of the partnership between Groupe SEB and Nestlé’s teams has played an instrumental role in this success. This is reflected in permanent discussions across the board, from the corporate level (partnership management) to local subsidiaries through business units (Marketing and Supply Chain).

Today, Dolce Gusto is still riding the crest of the wave of success : it is sold in 20 countries and comes in 5 ranges and 22 models, and has received a long line of design awards. 17 million units have been sold since its launch and currently, sales are still at around 3 million machines per year while there are still markets to be conquered, particularly Asia. Let the adventure continue !